The Final Gift
by Mercedes88
Summary: Summary: An unexpected gift turns a day of a sorrow into a day of hope. One shot. Sometime after Marian's engagement. R/M.


Rating: K  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Robin Hood, etc.  
Summary: An unexpected gift turns a day of a sorrow into a day of hope. One shot. R/M.

Note: Going on vacation. Couldn't resist posting before I left. This one is a bit angsty, but since the show never addressed Robin's parents, I thought I'd take a shot at at least one of them. Thanks for feedback on my other stories. You guys are wonderful!! Let me know what you think of this one, please! Please R&R.

**The Final Gift**

The sun rose like any other morning. Bright, optimistic, warm. Everything that was in direct contrast to his mood.

He didn't even wait for the gang to wake before silently slipping out of camp and making his way slowly, reluctantly, to the sacred place. At the edge of the clearing he paused unsure he had the strength to face this day, this moment.

Her face flashed through his mind. Smiling, beckoning. At moments, filled with worry. At others, with regal kindness. Still others, with the joyous laughter of a child. He squared his shoulders and entered the clearing.

It was the least he owed her.

It didn't take long to find what he was looking for. At her request, it was under the shade of the largest oak. The black stone rose from the ground like a dagger from a wound. A sudden weakness shook his steady stance as a sharp pain ripped through him, and he sank to his knees in front of it. One hand gripping the headstone, the other tracing her name.

**Eleanor of Locksley**

**Countess of Huntingdon**

1150 AD – 1188 AD

Honored Lady

Beloved wife

Loving mother

The tears came unbidden. His head bowed, agonizing words of regret slipped through trembling lips. "I…should have been here, Mother. I am sorry. So very sorry…"

Emotions spent, he didn't know how long he had been leaning against a nearby rock before hearing the snap of a twig behind him. There was a pause as the unseen intruder weighed their options. To advance or retreat. To disappear unseen or continue to their destination.

Without turning, he made the decision for her. "Marian. You do not have to go."

Taking a quick glance around her for any unseen observers, she took a few furtive steps forward, her curiosity piqued. "How did you know it was me?"

"Only two people know the significance of today." Still, he did not turn. His statements were factual, absent any hint of his usual swagger. "It has been a few weeks since Much has had a lavender bath and your step is lighter than his."

"I do not wish to intrude."

Robin of Locksley turned pleading eyes upward. "Stay, Marian. Please."

Honoring his request, Marian silently lowered herself to the ground next to him. Sharing the broad rock behind them for support, Marian glanced at him sideways. Noting his position. Taking in his blank expression and haunted eyes. She looked away, his sorrow becoming part of her.

With one arm dangling from a bent knee and his other wrapped around his waist, he appeared relaxed. To the casual observer. To the astute, he was in agony.

Each lost in their own thoughts, a hush fell over them that stretched on longer than either realized. Around them life went on. Birds twittered from the trees. Squirrels chased each other playfully. Rabbits bounced across the open field.

She ached for him. For the anguish he was feeling, for that unreachable place where he had retreated. It seemed she wasn't the only one. Without warning, the sun disappeared. Dark, gray clouds of brooding rolled in like an advancing army and hung low over the trees. The wind picked up, renewed with the promise of a coming storm.

She had seen him like this only once before. When his father died a year before Robin's departure to the Crusades, she had been able to reach him. Comfort him. Love him through the grief. Then, there had been no barriers between them. There had been no lost time to regret or images of war haunting him. There had been no impending marriage that was not their own.

Now, there were so many obstacles between them. She began to doubt the wisdom of coming. Yet, in her heart she knew there was no other place for her to be. She belonged here, with him. Even in the midst of his sorrow. Even with the distance separating them.

She sent a silent plea for help heavenward. And received an immediate answer.

A bright winged butterfly flittered to a soft landing on top of the granite headstone in front of them. It stared at Marian as if to say, "Here I am. Use me." A small smile tilted her lips upward.

Suddenly, Marian saw the path clear of the obstacles and broke the silence.

"Look, Robin, a butterfly." She touched his hand lightly to get his attention. The whispered animation in her voice beckoned childhood memories from the past. "That first day we met, she went on a butterfly chase with us. We made a competition of it. I caught two and you beat me by one. Then she made us release them. Do you remember?"

Robin nodded silently his gaze shifting to the tiny creature slowly flapping its multi-colored wings at them. He offered nothing further, but Marian sensed the break in him.

"I remember the first time I saw her. I thought she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen." She continued quietly, a hint of a smile in her voice. "Then you peeked your head out from around her skirt, and I knew I had been wrong."

There was a pause. Then a stirring.

"She loved you like a daughter." Robin responded, his voice reverent. "I often grew impatient with the long talks the two of you had. And jealous that you seemed to enjoy her company more than mine. I had never seen her so happy as the day we…" Robin's voice trailed off a sudden lump lodged in his throat.

"…announced our betrothal." Marian finished for him softly. Her gaze was distant, dreamy, as if seeing the events of that day play out before her above the generations of Locksleys lying in the ground. "She spoke of it often as one of the happiest days of her life."

"She said with you as my wife, there was finally hope for me."

"Well, that was a given." Marian tossed Robin a teasing glance and received a half smile and a slight chuckle for her effort. Her gaze shifted back to the headstone bearing her once intended mother-in-law's name. "She never stopped dreaming of that day. Even after you left."

Robin shifted uncomfortably. He didn't trust himself to delve into so sensitive a topic with his own emotions as raw as they were. Instead, he changed subjects.

"Thornton told me you were with her at the end. That for weeks you never left her side." Robin paused, his voice dropping to a pained whisper. "Thank you for doing what I could not."

Her voice was gentle and soothing. Her words, a healing balm. "You may have been thousands of miles away, Robin, but you were with her. In her memories, her thoughts, her prayers." She paused, her expression thoughtful. "In every dream of the future."

"And what future would that have been?" For the first time, Robin turned to her.

"Yours. Ours." Her gaze faltered. "She extracted promises from me in those last few days. Promises I have not yet fulfilled."

"Like what?"

A faint blush spread over her cheeks. Whether from the intensity of his stare or her recent confession, Robin wasn't sure.

She reached into a pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment, sealed with the Locksley crest. "Like I would give this to you upon your return." She handed it to Robin, refusing to meet his eyes. "I am sorry I did not do so before today."

Robin swallowed hard and hesitantly took the offered missive from the grave. "Why did you not?"

"I do not know." Marian shook her head and released a shaky sigh. "Perhaps I did not want to relinquish the last remaining connection between us."

Robin nodded in understanding, paused, then pushed himself off the ground. Marian started to follow suit, but Robin turned to her with a stilling hand. "Please stay. If you can."

Marian nodded and moved to sit on the rock she'd been leaning against. She watched Robin's every move, like a mother watching a child take its first step. She felt her heart constrict with worry. She held her breath. She perched on the edge of her seat ready to jump to his aid should he start to fall.

Turning his back to the girl he still loved, Robin reverently touched the stone of the mother he'd lost as he passed her marker. For a moment, he stared at the letter, unsure if he had the strength to open it. His name was written in the soft flowing script that was so distinctly hers. Each letter called out to him, like a whispering voice from Heaven.

Robin took a deep breath. He broke the seal. And began to read…

_My dearest son, _

_If you are reading this I was unable to hold on till your return. Please do not be angry with me for not staying to see your dear face one last time. My spirit was willing, but my body was weak. _

_I write this now because there are things I want you know, things I need to say._

_I am proud of you, Robin Huntington Locksley. You are the undisputed delight of my life. The laughter and joy you have given me these past twenty years have been my strength and my peace. You are your father's son and I have loved you like no other. _

_Like your father, you are brave, good and strong. A noble in every true sense of the word. You believe in right. In justice, duty, and in honor. With your sharp wits, commanding presence and quick smile you are capable of charming the world into following you. I know this for I have seen it. _

_A man with your various talents will be challenged like no other and faced with temptations beyond yourself. That is why you need a life partner that is equal to you in every way. Someone who will ground you. Someone to be your gravity. Your true North._

_Understand it is for this reason I have done something, I fear, of which you will not approve. _

_When you left, you did the honorable thing and released Marian from a promise she would have gladly kept till her last breath. Even if you never came home. I have reclaimed that promise and secured Marian's hand for you until your return. Knowing the ways of the heart, I did grant one condition for release—to follow hers should she discover a love of your equal._

_If you find her still unmarried upon your return, it is because she has not. _

_Do not be angry with me for my actions. They were done with the best of intentions and out of love from a mother's heart. _

_This is my final gift to you. A second chance. Do not waste time claiming it. A love such as yours and Marian's, a devotion that profound, is a rare thing indeed. Grab your happiness, my darling boy, with both hands and never, ever let ago again. _

_Do that, my son, and I will rest in peace._

_Watching you always, _

_Loving you forever,_

_Your devoted Mother_

Robin finished the letter oblivious to the tears slipping from the corners of his eyes. He folded it, then gazed up into the sky with his hands on his hips. Everything had changed in the space of a heartbeat. The clouds were gone and the sun was smiling down on him once more. He swiftly wiped at the tears he could now feel on his cheeks.

With a deep, cleansing breath, he turned back to Marian. His searching gaze met hers and held. In that moment he understood with complete and utter clarity the wisdom of his mother's actions.

It was more than just her presence on the day he needed her most. More than the fact she had saved his life on numerous occasions. Had gone out of her way, risked her own life, to fight by his side. It was more than a promise to a dying mother long gone.

It was there in her big blue eyes. Marian loved him. Had never stopped loving him. Would never stop.

The change in Robin's expression was instant. Marian rose, unsure what had changed, but knowing a change indeed had occurred.

For once, Robin obeyed his mother. He did not waste time. He reached out with both hands to claim his happiness.

He held up the letter as indication of his words. "So, this is why you are not yet married."

Realization filtered through her expression before she answered, the truth of the words evident in her eyes. "That is why."

He took a hesitant step forward. "She says here that she had released you on the condition you…"

"…loved someone more than you." Marian finished for him. She nodded once in confirmation. "Yes. She did."

"And still you have not married." An inquisitive eyebrow rose.

"No. I have not."

Another step closer. "At least not till the King returns."

Her back stiffened and her hands clenched by her side as if preparing for a fight. "You know why I agreed to that."

"Yes." There was no accusation in Robin's tone. No anger or resentment. Only truth. Only hope. "What I do not know is if a hangman's noose had not been dangling before you, would you have still said yes?"

Her chin rose in defiance. "If I had wanted to marry Guy, I would have done so by now."

"Marian." Eyes locked with hers, Robin's voice grew husky. "You know what I am asking."

"And you know the answer."

He reached out and gently ran his fingers down the side of her face. His aquamarine eyes bored into hers, pleading. "Just this once, on this day, I need more than just to know. Please."

Her inner struggle was evident on her face. She'd been holding back for so long. Had resigned herself, in fact, to a life of half truths and outright lies. Her very life, her father's life, depended on her ability to control her emotions. To deny fact. To deny her heart. The tightrope she'd been walking for so long was slippery with dangerous repercussions should she fall.

Yet here he was, the love of her life, begging for one moment of truth. In the sacredness of this place, how could she dare refuse him?

"I have not married these past five years because I found no one of your equal." Once she began, she could not stop. "I do not love Gisborne and would have never consented to marry him under any circumstances save the one I find myself in now. To say that day that I despise you was the furthest thing from the truth I have ever spoken."

Her voice began to shake with emotion. "The promise I made to your mother was to follow my heart till your return. I have done so, Robin of Locksley. And despite everything, it has brought me here, to you."

"Despite everything." Robin repeated softly.

"You are an outlaw. I could hang for talking to you right now. And you…" Her gaze faltered. Tears were escaping down her cheeks. Cupping her face in his hands, Robin gently caught each one as it fell.

"And I cannot marry you." Robin finished for her. "Not until the King returns."

"And I am foolishly promised to another on that day." Her lowered gaze rose to meet his. "Robin, what are we going to do?"

"I do not know." Robin shook his head, his first smile of the day lighting his eyes. "But we still love each other. Marian, we have a second chance. And we have time. Time until the King returns, to figure something out."

The hope in his eyes was infectious. She began to smile through her tears. "And we will."

"Yes. We will." Robin whispered as he pulled Marian into his arms. "Together, my love, we will."

With a second chance before him and the only happiness he'd ever known firmly ensconced in his arms, Robin silently thanked Eleanor of Locksley for this, her final gift.

The End


End file.
